Game Day Buzz

The city is alive with spirit for today’s big game. I’m not a huge football fan, but I have enjoyed the excitement of this season, and as I learn more about the strategy and working parts of the game, I like watching it more and more. Per the husband’s request, we decided to show a little Seahawks-spirit in this week’s family photo by including a banner I made in support of them. The kids have no idea what the touchdown hands are all about, but they obliged for the photo. If you ask me, the little one stole the show this week.

One photo a week of our family throughout the year. 5/52

After posting a photo of the banner on my Facebook timeline earlier this week, several people asked me how I made it, so the following is a (rough) tutorial. I rarely have a real plan ahead of time when I am doing a creative project, so much of the following was improvised on the spot. All I had decided on going into it was the colors I wanted to use, and the shape of the letter flags. I bought simple cotton broadcloth in all the Seahawks-related colors, and started by layering up the blue so I could cut all 10 layers for the flags at the same time. I folded and cut a piece of computer paper to size first to make sure the angle would be even on both sides and then proceeded with cutting the fabric.

Next, I went searching for a font I thought could work for the lettering, and printed out everything at the desired size. I printed it out twice, as the first time the letters seemed like they would be a little small on the flags and larger letters seemed necessary. That’s the fun part of figuring things out as you go!

To get fabric letters out of paper ones, I used paper-backed iron-on adhesive transfer on the back side of my white broadcloth. After first cutting the letters out of the computer paper, I traced them backwards onto the back/paper side of the transfer, so I could cut the fabric out without any marks on the front side. After the letters were all cut out from the fabric, I removed the paper backing, placed each letter carefully on its flag, and ironed it on.

The next step was to figure out how to use the bright green to liven up the banner, so I spread the flags out on the table so I could think about what to do. I had plans for a more involved design, but as the time got later and my patience wore out, I decided on simple long rectangle flags between/behind each letter-flag. Sometimes simple is better!

It wasn’t until the next morning that I tackled the Seahawks logo for the final flag. The 12th man flag was the first one I did, even though it’s not pictured until later. I went about the same process for the logo (computer-printed, cut out – painstakingly piece by piece – and the ironed together in successive steps). This was by far the most tedious part of the project, but I am pleased with the final result, even though I would have loved a little more precise lines on the beak.

To bring it all together, I pinned the pieces together with a 1/4-inch navy ribbon and sewed down the ribbon with a zig-zag stitch. This is the final result! If you’re in the market to make any kind of banner, I recommend the broadcloth/iron-on transfer combo. While I chose not to finish the edges of the flags as of yet, I think they’ll hold up for many seasons to come. Go Hawks!